Ran Yesterday's 5K May Day Glow Run in Tioga

This is the second straight year that I've run in the 5K (3.1-mile) May Day Glow Run, held in the small town of Tioga a few miles west of Gainesville.  It's called "glow" run because it takes place during the transition from twilight to early evening darkness...the event's volunteers pass out colorful glowsticks that can be worn twisted into loops like one pictured above.  Most 5K races take place Saturday mornings just after sunrise...an inauspicious time for me considering that I get off from work at midnight Friday night and couldn't think just then of many things I'd rather do less than get up so early the next morning to run a race.  But afternoon and evening races? No problem, even with the heat...that's good since Saturday afternoon's high here reached 95 degrees. By race time at 8:15, though, it had dropped to 85 with a 53% humidity...still, it seemed a lot muggier than that...

For me to even have considered running this race was a longshot after the troubles I have been suffering with my arm pain and nervous system woes since late April.  However, I was able to eventually return to light running after a brief layoff and thought that I would try this race out as a very slow training run...and see how my body responded afterwards.  As it turned out, I'm glad I didn't set out to run a fast time since I didn't register until less than an hour before the race and they had already issued all of their timing chips...meaning that I could get my tee-shirt and run with the others, but my time wouldn't "count".  No problem, I ran the entire time of the race...which is a lot more than I could say for too many of the other participants who seemed thoroughly pooped through much of it...and finished with a time of approximately 33 minutes, easily my slowest ever 5K race time.  But I feel good and my coughing woes from the past never surfaced...

This May Day Glow Run is a fundraiser for Newberry Community Christian school.  Everyone volunteering in it was very friendly and helpful, and their positive attitude definitely rubbed off on those running in it...it certainly did for me.  I'd like to make a tradition of running this special springtime evening race each year, as long as they keep holding it and my health holds up, too.  But maybe next year I'll sign up in advance to make sure my final time is recorded and posted...